Seafood Restaurants in Bedford

The aroma of catfish filets frying in the kitchen wafts through Catfish Sam's and unites with the scents of hand-breaded-shrimp appetizers and charbroiled rib-eye steaks. Each table comes dressed with complimentary sides, including no-fat pinto beans, coleslaw, housemade yeast rolls, hush puppies, and green-tomato relish.

Hints of French and Italian cuisine mingle with Texas culinary traditions at Dino’s Steak and Claw House, where chefs deconstruct classic surf and turf inside a vintage bank building. In the kitchen, they slice fresh garlic and heirloom tomatoes between trips to the grill, which sizzles with 8-ounce beef fillets and 20-ounce porterhouses. Lobster can be ordered with a crabmeat crust or a puffy jacket of ravioli and a pistachio-froth scarf. Meals unfold atop white linen tablecloths dotted with fresh floral arrangements, and chandeliers illuminate the dining room with a glow as warm and inviting as a welcome mat made of jalapeños. Work by local artists accents the entire scene, and grand-piano ticklings turn up the classiness to a glass-shattering 11. A black-marble bar adds an extra layer of luxury, which extends to a patio made for al fresco dining.

Daddy Jack’s luminescent sign hangs over its corner spot in the Sundance Square district, beckoning diners to walk past the outdoor patio and detect the aroma of fresh lobster, clams, and a perfectly grilled steak here and there. Fresh seafood satiates East Coast cravings at both dinner and lunch with blackened shrimp and jumbo sea scallops and lobster tails. Pasta dishes entangle mussels, lobster, and clams in housemade sauces, while completely vegetarian dishes forego the seafood for mushrooms, tomatoes, and balloon animals. Wines journey from around the globe—from Chile to New Zealand—to wash down meals.

The fry-masters at The Original Snappy Catfish assemble hearty dinner packages centered on the tasty golden-fried fish. Catfish baskets brim with 10 crispy pieces, which can be comfortably divvied up among four or five eaters, or stowed in safe-deposit boxes when no one's looking. Diners tear taste buds away from entrees to devour sides inspired by the Deep South, such as fried okra, corn fritters, and hush puppies. Two-liter sodas sweeten up feasts enjoyed at the eatery or dished out around home dinner tables.

The Bottom has plenty of Fort Worth pride. The multiple flat-screen TVs attract flocks of TCU students and fans on game days, and the menu itself has items that pay homage to the fearsome Horned Frogs. There are the purple beer and the Polliwog: a frozen concoction named after the Old English term for a tadpole and made with secret ingredients that can only be revealed if the blender is kissed by a princess. Also in the bar, 35 taps represent breweries from nearby and afar, including Rahr & Sons, Shiner, Saint Arnold, and Stone.

In addition to the bar, this family-owned, community-oriented restaurant offers something for everyone. Saturday and Sunday brunch entice local families to stop by this neighborhood eatery. Outside, guests can unwind on the spacious patio and enjoy gigantic burgers and Southwestern apps and entrees amid leafy palms at tables in both the shade and the sun.

Circle S Catfish Grill is a labor of love for the Shipp family, with elder son Adam managing the day-to-day affairs, wife Kelli and parents Randy and Patti taking time from their retirement or teaching careers to pitch in, and younger brother Nick employing his training under Wolfgang Puck to design many of the recipes on the menu. Like a fancy state dinner with coloring-book placemats, the restaurant fuses a family-friendly ambience with elegant dishes, such as Angus beef sirloin, grilled salmon, or Nick's specialty bread pudding topped with crème aunglace. Collected artifacts of Americana, buzzing neon, and a huge flat-screen TV adorn the walls, surrounding vinyl and chrome furnishings that evoke the image of a mid-20th-century Route 66 diner. Freshly cut fries sidle up to plates of fried catfish or grilled chicken, and housemade salsas, tartar sauces, and cocktail sauces pair up with tilapia, chips, and succulent fried shrimp.